The Michigan Department of Transportation is hoping to see the formation of a new transit authority in Berrien County within the next year or two.
We’ve reported that the Berrien County Board of Commissioners is now reviewing options after receiving a letter from MDOT stating the agency’s intent to have a new entity replacing the Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority created soon to receive federal transit funds. MDOT Passenger Transportation Administrator Jean Ruestman tells us they’ve been watching the situation for years because there are already too many transit authorities in the county. But the financial position of TCATA has finally prompted the call for something new.
“There have been some difficulties at TCATA over the years,” Ruestman said. “They’ve had some funding issues, some operational issues. You know, last year they lost their insurance and they had to go on a high risk insurance pool, further depleting their funding.”
Ruestman says MDOT has already conducted several studies on the possibility of a larger authority in Berrien County. Although the county in 2016 sought to get the ball rolling on something like that, it was met with a cool reception from the city of Benton Harbor. Now things appear to have changed.
Ruestman says if a new transit authority is formed, it would have multiple revenue streams.
“The four different transit providers in your county all currently receive state and federal funding, and so that funding would remain, and if services expand, that funding could expand some with the expansion of services.”
Ruestman says generally speaking, millages are also used to finance public transit. However, she says MDOT’s role in these discussions is supportive, and all decisions will have to be local.
The letter sent to Berrien County by MDOT says the department would like to see a new transit service established and operational by October 1, 2026. Ruestman tells us the agency also knows it could take a bit longer than that.
